With two of the FA Cup quarter-finalists (Everton and Boro) on the cusp of the relegation zone and playing each other, and another just outside it (though Fulham would need a dramatic collapse in order to get relegated now), it had me wondering if any team had won the FA Cup and been relegated in the same season? asks Simon Ian Walton

The short answer is no. However, five teams have been hapless enough to go down having appeared in both the league and Cup finals. Chelsea were the first to achieve this poor feat in 1915, although they were subsequently re-elected to the top division after the war without having to kick a ball in the Second.

Less lucky were Manchester City (of course) in 1926, Leicester in 1969, Brighton in 1983 and aforementioned expert purveyors of hopelessness Middlesbrough in 1997.

The only English club to win a cup and get relegated in the same year is Norwich, who won the League (Milk) Cup in 1985 and then went down, taking finalists Sunderland with them.

Now, what's going to happen to Blackburn this season, do you think?

CAN YOU BEAT PAUL STEWART?

"Has there ever been a player who has played in a London, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester derby?" asked several hundred of you.

The answer is definitely no. This is a bastardisation of question which should refer to the Tyne-Wear derby rather than the Glaswegian one - the answer to that one is Paul Stewart.

But that set us thinking - which footballer has played in the most derby matches? Let's begin with four: Gazza has played in north London, Rome, Glasgow and Liverpool derbies (but no, not the Tyne-Wear affair).

Ray Wilkins raises the stakes with four-and-a-half: he's featured in local spats in west London, Manchester, Milan and Glasgow - but only sat on the bench in the Edinburgh derby.

So predictably, that man Stewart leads the field so far with five: his chubby little legs have carried him around pitches during derbies in Manchester, north and south London, Liverpool and Wearside.

"Rumour has it that Paulo Di Canio has yet to be capped by Italy at senior level, and following five years over here has now "qualified" as an England player? Is this true?" asks Chris Hartley.

Even Football Focus has been taken in with this piece of scurrilous gossip - Ray Stubbs and Lawro were joshing about the likelihood of Di Canio wearing red, white and blue a few weeks ago. However, much like Paulo's much-mooted transfer to Manchester United, there's no chance of it happening.

The reason? Di Canio once played for the Italian under-21 team, thus barring him from switching his allegiances to England - even though he has lived in Britain long enough to qualify for a UK passport.

STRANGE SENDINGS OFF 2

Last week we asked: "Has anyone else ever been sent off for an offence such as Jamie Carragher's - one that didn't involve another player or official?" and received several suggestions. Since then we've had some more.

Tony Towers remembers that during Bristol City's game against Reading on August 7 1999, Gerard Lavin was sent off for wilfully blasting the ball at opposition fans.

"City had a throw in, but rather than return the ball to play, Lavin instead deliberately kicked the ball into the crowd as hard as he could, breaking Reading fan Mark Steven's wrist in the process," he says.

"The act almost caused a riot and Lavin was shown a straight red card. He later admitted assault in court and was forced to pay £300 damages to Mr Stevens.

"It's a bit of a mystery as to why he did it. We had been giving him some stick for an earlier hard tackle on one of our players, but nothing particularly strong."

Meanwhile, last season Dundee's Juan Sara was sent off after receiving two yellow cards - the first of which was for revealing a "Jesus Loves You" T-shirt after putting The Dee ahead against St Mirren. War Cry, the official magazine of the Salvation Army, takes up the story:

"After putting Dundee 1-0 up against St Mirren, he went on one of his godly goal celebrations. Lifting his shirt, he showed fans the Bible verse: 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.' The referee waved the yellow card at him.

"Just minutes later, the ref decided that the Argentinian had deliberately handled the ball deep in the St Mirren half. Sara was shown a second yellow and received his marching orders."

KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE PLUG

"Why do some national teams have a gold star on their shirts?" asks Jonny Whitehead.

It's all to do with winning the World Cup, Jonny. We've actually answered this question before - for more information (including why England don't have a star of their own), see the August 30 2000 edition in the Knowledge Archive.

HOW MANY FOREIGNERS WERE IN THE PREMIERSHIP WHEN IT STARTED?

In a previous Knowledge, Dara Dowd asked: "I remember reading that when the Premiership began, there were only nine foreigners (not counting Irish, Welsh or Scottish) attached to Premiership clubs. Is this true? And if so, who were they?"

Last week, Simon Gleave pointed out that 10 foreign players were in their team's starting line-ups when the Premiership began, and two more came on as substitutes.

However, Knowledge regular Pete Tomlin says that another 27 players were attached to Premiership clubs when it began. They include (cue deep breath and preparation for curious time-warp trip back to 1992) the likes of John Jensen, Stefan Beinlich and even Michel Vonk. For a full list click here.

CAN YOU HELP?

"In the recent game between Grimsby and Stockport, goals were scored by both player-managers - Paul Groves and Carlton Palmer," notices Pete Green. "When was the last time this happened in English professional football?"

"Which player has been promoted the most?" asks Jostein Nygard.

"In the famous photo of Bobby Moore and his team lifting the World Cup, in 1966, with Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson on either side, there are two people in the background, who appear to be having an argument. One of them may be a Wembley official, the other Jimmy Armfield. Can anyone confirm who they are and what they were saying to each other," asks Alan Sheridan.

"In what year did the football league switch from the original orange leather ball to the white ball?" asks Matthew Board. "I would also like to know when Fifa and Uefa switched as well."